I knew he hated me before anyone said it.
But hearing it spoken aloud hurt in a way I didn't expect.
The guard led me down a narrow hallway, his steps stiff, his silence heavy. He didn't look at me. He didn't want to. I could feel it in every clipped breath he took.
I tried to swallow the pressure in my chest. Tried to ignore the echo of Axel's voice telling them to remove me. I tried to pretend the mate bond wasn't pulsing beneath my skin like a bruise I couldn't hide.
My hands curled into fists.
*He hates me already. Fine. Good. I didn't come here to be liked.*
The guard finally stopped. "This is your room. You will not leave unless escorted."
"Am I a prisoner?" I asked.
He hesitated. "Not officially."
"Then what am I?"
He opened the door. "Someone the Alpha doesn't want here."
Each word landed like a blow.
I stepped inside without responding.
The door shut behind me with a sharp click.
Alone again. Just like always.
I wasn't alone for long.
A soft knock sounded, but it wasn't gentle. It was playful. Confidence. The kind of knock someone gives when they're testing you.
Before I could answer, the door slid open and a man stepped inside.
Tall. Sharp smile. Eyes that looked like they enjoyed trouble.
Cassian.
The Beta.
He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me with an amused tilt of his head.
"So. You're the girl causing all the noise."
My voice stayed flat. "I haven't said anything."
"You don't have to." His smile widened. "You simply exist. That's enough."
I didn't trust that smile. No part of me felt safe with him, even though he wasn't overtly threatening. Something about him was too smooth. Too practiced. Too curious.
I kept my distance. "Do you want something?"
"Just a look," he said.
"A look at what?"
"You." He took a slow step forward. "You walk in, and our Alpha nearly breaks the door frame trying to escape the room. That's not normal."
I stiffened. His eyes watched the reaction closely.
He was looking for weakness.
He wouldn't find it.
"I didn't ask him to run," I said.
"No," Cassian replied softly. "But he ran anyway."
He said it like a joke, but there was meaning under the words. A warning. A test.
He circled me once, slow, precise, like a wolf studying a threat.
Then he inhaled.
One long, deliberate breath.
His expression changed instantly.
He froze.
His smile fell.
His eyes sharpened into something darker, more dangerous, almost calculating.
"You..." he whispered.
I stepped back. "Don't sniff me."
He didn't blink. "Your scent. It shifted."
My stomach tightened. "What does that mean?"
Cassian didn't answer. His jaw clenched for half a second too long.
Then the smile returned but it wasn't real anymore.
He moved closer, invading my space. "Let me give you some advice, little wolf."
I lifted my chin. "Don't call me that."
He ignored me. "You are not welcome here."
"Good," I said quietly. "I didn't come for comfort."
His eyes narrowed. "You're not afraid."
"No. And that bothers you."
A flicker of irritation moved across his face. Gone as quickly as it came.
"You should be afraid," he said.
"Then you should work harder," I replied.
Cassian let out a short laugh. "You're bold. That won't save you."
"Neither will smiling like a fox."
The laugh died.
For a moment, the mask slipped.
I saw steel beneath. Sharp. Merciless.
Then the mask was back, the playful smirk returning as if nothing had happened.
"Well," he said, stepping away, "this should be fun."
He reached for the door but paused with his hand on the handle.
"You should know," he added softly, not turning around, "Axel doesn't want you near him."
My breath caught. "I already heard."
He shook his head. "You don't understand. He wants you gone. Far. Away from this pack. Away from him."
A fresh ache spread through my chest. I hated that feeling. I hated knowing it was tied to him.
"Why?" I whispered.
Cassian finally looked back at me, and for once, the playfulness disappeared completely.
"Because he feels things he shouldn't," he said.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Cassian saw the reaction. His eyes sharpened.
"You know something," he murmured.
"No," I said.
He smiled again. "Liar."
Before I could respond, he slipped out the door and disappeared down the hall.
The silence collapsed around me like a wave.
I pressed a hand to my chest.
The pull was still there.
Still strong.
Still undeniable.
*If he wants me gone… then why does the bond feel stronger every second?*
I turned toward the small window in the room, needing air that wasn't suffocating. I pushed it open.
My breath stopped.
Up on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Axel stood.
Watching.
Not casually.
Not by accident.
His hands were clenched at his sides, fists tight enough to make his knuckles pale. His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. His eyes were locked not on the pack, not on the grounds
On me.
I froze.
He didn't move.
He didn't blink.
He stared like he wanted to drag me out of the room and throw me across the border or drag me closer and demand something he didn't know how to name.
A shiver went through me.
"Why are you watching me?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
He couldn't hear me.
But something in his gaze shifted sharp pain, raw anger, and something else I didn't dare name.
Then he turned and walked away, disappearing into the Alpha wing.
My heart twisted.
Too fast.
Too much.
*This bond… it's real. He feels it. And he hates that he feels it.*
A knock at the door pulled me away from the window.
The guard from earlier stood there. "Beta Cal requests your presence at the border."
"Why?" I asked.
"There's been a rogue attack."
Of course there had been. Crescent territory was always hunted. Rogues didn't care about peace treaties.
The guard hesitated. "The Beta says you need to see something."
A strange chill slid down my spine.
"What is it?" I asked.
He didn't answer. "You should come."
The body lay on the ground.
A rogue.
Dead.
But that wasn't what stole my breath.
It was the mark on his chest.
A burn mark.
Sharp.
Circular.
A symbol scorched into the flesh as if pressed by a red-hot brand.
Cassian stood beside the corpse, arms folded, eyes locked on me as I approached.
He waited until I stood in front of it.
Then he asked, "Ever seen something like this?"
My blood ran cold.
Because I had.
Not once.
Not twice.
But many times.
Back home.
In the night my pack fell.
I forced my voice to stay steady. "Where did you find him?"
"Crawling toward the border," Cassian said. "He didn't make it. But this" He pointed at the mark. "This isn't a rogue symbol. This is organized."
My hands began to shake.
"Who did this?" he asked.
The burn mark seemed to pulse in my vision. Memories slammed into mescreams, smoke, blood, and the same symbol burned into the skin of the wolves who came for us.
I swallowed hard. "It's not random."
Cassian stepped closer. "So you do know it."
I lowered my gaze. "No. I don't."
Cassian's jaw tightened. "You're lying again."
My heart pounded. I couldn't give him the truth. I couldn't give anyone the truth. Not yet.
*Not when I still don't know who to trust.*
Cassian leaned in. "You better start talking, Lola. Because this symbol… it means war."
My voice came out soft. Barely a breath.
"I've seen that mark before."
Cassian straightened instantly. His eyes widened in slow, dangerous understanding.
But before he could speak
howls erupted from the woods.
Close.
Fast.
Wrong.
The guard beside me raised his weapon.
Cassian cursed.
And I stared into the treeline where the sound came from.
The same shadow from earlier stood between the trees.
Watching me.
Waiting.
And this time, it smiled.